


Popsicles

by ZsforSs



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Anal Sex, Eli is just hot, I should probably not be tagging this this late at night, Let's see any other relevant tags...., M/M, Pillow Talk, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Popsicles, Post-Coital Cuddling, Shore Leave, This is my first publically posted sex scene, Thrawn does insist on a little plot, Thrawn is hot and uncomfortable, ffffffffffffff, no really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 02:28:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17778845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZsforSs/pseuds/ZsforSs
Summary: “This is Thrawn.”“Hello sir,” Eli replied. Likely out in public- though Eli did have an adorable habit of calling him 'sir' even when they were alone. “I have an update on the situation.”“Proceed.”“The good news is the busted cooling unit isn't some half-hearted attempt to assassinate you- the whole hotel's doing without right now. Repairs are underway.”“And the bad news?”“Estimated Time of Completion is two more hours.”Thrawn groaned.





	Popsicles

**Author's Note:**

> This is not really a Valentine's fic- it's not on theme and I started writing it a long time ago and it just sat in my writing folder judging me... But I wasn't going to finish any other fics in time for Valentine's.
> 
> ANYWAY let me know what you think and enjoy your Not-Valentines Valentine's fic!

_Thrad,_ Thrawn considered wearily as the rotating fan made another pass. _Was not for him._

_Not without functional climate control anyway._

It would have been nearly midwinter back on Csilla- but here on Thrad it was in the middle of their summer, and it was _unbearably_ hot.

It was day four of his and Eli's shore leave, they had another six to go. He'd chosen Thrad mostly at random, from a list Eli had put together of nearby worlds approved for leave that also had well known art museums. He'd asked Eli if there was anywhere he wanted to go, but Eli had deferred to him. “I'm coming along on _your_ vacation right? Because you might need me for any emergencies. So you should pick where we go.”

He and Eli had been booked into adjacent rooms at a hotel magnitudes nicer than anything Eli would have been able to get if he'd gone on vacation alone. There was a door between their rooms that had not been closed once since they had arrived. And though Eli made a point to disorder his bedding nightly he had not yet slept in his own bed.

Thrawn looked at the empty space on the bed next to him. This morning they had woken up to a silent cooling unit and an already warm room. Both problems had persisted- and Eli had gone on a fact-finding mission... nearly an hour ago.

Thrawn frowned at the unoccupied sheets, he reached out to grab his comm off the bedside table- just as it began chiming.

“This is Thrawn.”

“Hello sir,” Eli replied. Likely out in public- though Eli did have an adorable habit of calling him 'sir' even when they were alone. “I have an update on the situation.”

“Proceed.”

“The good news is the busted cooling unit isn't some half-hearted attempt to assassinate you- the whole hotel's doing without right now. Repairs are underway.”

“And the bad news?”

“Estimated Time of Completion is two more hours.”

Thrawn groaned.

“How's your situation sir?” Eli asked.

“Unchanged.” In this context 'unchanged' meant 'still laying in bed in my boxers.' “I am not given to hyperbole Eli,” Thrawn added. “But I believe I may be melting.”

Eli laughed. “Well hold on sir, I'm getting some provisions and then I'll be back. By the way- citrus, berry or chocolate?”

“All are acceptable. What are you getting?”

“It's a surprise.” Eli said and ended the comm.

* * *

True to his word Eli was back soon.

Thrawn heard him enter- a wave of even hotter air flowing in when he opened the door.

Eli scuffled around in the hall for a while- kicking off his sandals probably- but eventually he knelt on the bed next the Thrawn. He was holding what appeared to be a larger, sturdier version of the room's ice bucket.

“How're you feeling sir?” he asked as he set down the container on the bed. Thrawn watched as Eli unconsciously wiped his hands-wet from condensation- down his bare arms.

“I am exceedingly uncomfortable.” Thrawn admitted. Too uncomfortable to fully enjoy the sight of Eli out of uniform. His aide/friend/lover was dressed in thin white shorts that barely fell to mid thigh and a teal sleeveless shirt.

“Aww...” Eli laid a chilled hand on his forehead. “I brought some stuff that might help.”

Eli dug around in the container and fished out a washcloth. “ I have four more in the cooler if you want them.” Eli said. He rung out the excess water and handed Thrawn the icy cold cloth.

Thrawn laid it over his face for a moment before sliding it down to cover his chest. He eyed the cooler. From this angle he could see the bottle of alcohol stuck in it. “Where did you get that?”

Eli pulled the bottle out and showed him the label- Daruvvian champagne, from a vineyard Thrawn had seen at Imperial functions. “Courtesy of the hotel management. As an apology for the inconvenience.”

Thrawn noted Eli's smirk. “You intimidated the hotel staff out of a bottle of champagne.”

“Yep.” Eli grinned.

“Dressed like this?” Thrawn ran a hand over Eli's knee and watched Eli's face heat in response.

“I can be intimidating!” Eli protested. “It also helped that it's like, 10 degrees warmer out in the halls. The staff are all visibly sweating.”

Thrawn hummed. He was still exceptionally hot- but Eli's presence had at least provided him with a distraction.

“I also got popsicles,” Eli said.

“Popsicles?”

“They're- you've had ice cream right?” Eli asked.

“Yes.” He doubted such a treat would ever be popular on his homeworld for obvious reasons, but he had enjoyed the dessert before.

“Popsicles are basically just ice cream on a stick. Look,” Eli stuck both hands in the cooler and pulled out six popsicles- a pair each in red, green, and brown. “Berry, Citrus, Chocolate. I ran across the way to the foodmart and bought them and the cooler.”

“You didn't have to-”

“Oh hush, my Commander's salary is enough to cover some popsicles. What flavor do you want first?”

“...Citrus.” Eli handed him a green popsicle and then began opening himself a chocolate one. Thrawn mimicked Eli's method of opening the wrapping as it seemed to be planned out to keep your hands as clean as possible.

The popsicle was sweet, tart, and _cold_. Thrawn sighed. It was not nearly enough. He was still very uncomfortable, but perhaps he was not actively melting anymore.

Thrawn noted as he watched Eli eat his own popsicle that they were rather … phallic.

Eli ruined this realization by biting off the tip of his popsicle.

Thrawn chuckled. It was just like Eli to be contrary, even if it was unintentional.

“Hmm?” Eli inquired, his mouth still full.

Thrawn shook his head, and ran a thumb along Eli's knee with his free hand. “It's nothing.”

Eli's face heated again but he kept eating. Thrawn finished his popsicle and used the damp cloth still on his chest to clean his fingers.

“Now you've got popsicle all over you,” Eli said. He took the cloth and wiped his own fingers and put it back in the cooler. “Do you want another one?”

“No.” Thrawn stroked Eli's knee a third time. “Come here?” he said.

“...I thought you were dying from the heat?” Eli teased, even as he flushed vividly.

“I am,” Thrawn said. “Make my end a happy one?”

Eli laughed, “If you insist.” He slid his shorts and underwear off, having to squirm around a little to get them off completely. The cooler wobbled a bit as he did this- so Eli pushed it farther away, giving them more room. Eli's shirt quickly joined his shorts and he leaned over to kiss Thrawn softly.

Thrawn squeezed Eli's inner thigh and ran his other hand along Eli's side. Lovely, all of him. Thrawn admired the view, taking in Eli's growing cock, the faint sheen of sweat on his dark skin, the way he was biting his lip. Thrawn met Eli's eyes, his perusal had been quite obvious. Eli blushed even more and ducked his head. He pointedly focused on helping Thrawn slip his own boxers off.

Once they were both bare Eli straddled Thrawn, sliding their bodies together as he sat and pressing chilled fingers to Thrawn's shoulders to steady himself.

Thrawn enjoyed the sensation of Eli's cold hands. But when Thrawn grabbed Eli's ass with his own cold hands Eli hissed at him.

“Too cold?” Thrawn teased.

“Just- ah! Just feels weird.” But Eli sighed as Thrawn dipped his fingers between Eli's cheeks to open him up. Eli was still loose from their activities last night, allowing Thrawn to press one finger in immediately as he tried to remember when he'd put the lube. They had not bothered to get condoms- they'd both had check-ups before they went on leave and while their relationship was sometimes complicated it had always been _exclusive_. 

Eli pressed back into his touch and hummed low in his throat. One hand reached out and pulled the tube of lubricant from under his pillow.

“Mmm...” Thrawn said, taking the tube. “Thank you.”

It didn't take long to ready Eli again. They were both too impatient to drag out the foreplay too much and soon Thrawn was pulling Eli up onto his knees and helping him get into place. He kept Eli kneeling there on shaking legs for a moment as he quickly slicked himself-then Eli was sinking down on Thrawn's cock in one long slow motion that made them both groan as he bottomed out.

Neither of them moved immediately, but then Eli rolled his hips, knocking the breath out of Thrawn for a moment. His composure was already hanging by a thread.

Eli smiled down at him, “You gonna make me do all the work?” he teased, and raised himself up, nearly off of Thrawn completely before sinking back down.

Thrawn hissed and thrust up into Eli. Eli immediately began moving with him. They settled into a steady rhythm easily, Thrawn driving up as Eli pushed down.

This would not take long, Eli was moaning already-he was always so loud, so loud Thrawn was sometimes amazed they hadn't been _caught_ \- and Thrawn was ready to burst.

Thrawn started working Eli's cock, determined to not finish alone. Eli moaned louder and his rhythm faltered. Thrawn took full advantage, thrusting up forcefully into Eli's tight heat as he jerked Eli off.

He was so close, and he could tell from Eli's unsteady breaths and frantic rocking he was too.

After a few more desperate thrusts they finished nearly together, Eli came first, crying out as his body tightened around Thrawn's cock and coating his own stomach with his come. Eli's climax pulled Thrawn over as well, he gripped Eli's hips hard as he spent inside him.

Eli almost pitched forward to lay on top of Thrawn- but caught himself.  Thrawn wouldn't have minded, but it was still far too hot and Eli was currently a mess. Thrawn carefully slid free of Eli's body and maneuvered him to lay on his back beside Thrawn. Before he could move away Eli wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled Thrawn down into a slow lingering kiss.

Eventually Thrawn pulled away and fished a washcloth from their cooler to clean them up with. He handled himself first in the vain hope the cloth would warm up before using it on Eli.

It didn't of course, and Eli swore when Thrawn wiped down his stomach and between his legs.

“S' too cold.” Eli whined.

“Would you rather stay dirty?” Thrawn asked.

“No,” Eli grumbled.

The washcloth was much too dirty to go back in the cooler, so Thrawn dropped it off the side of the bed before settling back down beside Eli.

Eli yawned and wrapped an arm around Thrawn's waist. Thrawn found himself yawning only moments later.

It was still too hot, but Thrawn found at the moment he didn't mind so much.

They dozed for a long while, drifting in and out of wakefulness as they lay side by side.

Eventually Thrawn looked over to see Eli looking back, mostly awake and smiling. This he realized, was the perfect opportunity to practice.

“ _It is nearly Longest Night back on Csilla and here I am being slowly cooked alive.”_ Thrawn said in Cheunh.

Eli smiled. “ _Longest Night, is that the..._ winter solstice?” he asked,swapping to Basic for the last words. He still wasn't quite right on his 'ah' sound- but he was perfectly understandable, and Thrawn liked that Eli had retained a fraction of his accent.

“ _Yes_. _Longest Night is our celebration of the winter solstice._ ” Thrawn said.

“ _What do you do for the solstice?_ ” Eli asked.

“ _It's usually spent in small family or friends gatherings. Traditionally you stay up all that night, and play no music. When the sun rises you greet it with bells. Every home has special bells on hand for just this event of course.”_

Eli nodded solemnly. _“Of course.”_

Eli's Cheunh and Chiss culture lessons had started nearly a year ago- just in case, and Thrawn would find any excuse he could to ask and answer questions in Cheunh with Eli.

Thrawn did not think too much about that just in case. He thought instead about how much use Eli was to him now, here.

The cooling unit hummed to life abruptly, flooding the room with wonderful, blissfully cool air. Against his side Eli shivered. “M' cold.” he murmured.

Thrawn reached over Eli, snagged the edge of a discarded coverlet and drew it over Eli- just Eli.

Eli sighed and nestled up against Thrawn more.

 _This_ did not factor into his decision. Or so he told himself. It was fine for now- he still had other options.

Eli would hate the weather on Csilla anyway, Thrawn told himself.

“If you were going to get a tattoo what would you get?” Eli asked, in Basic.

“I wouldn't.”

“If a crazy guy with a blaster burst in and held us hostage until we told him what type of tattoos we'd get what would you tell him?”

“That is an incredibly unlikely situation.”

Eli sighed and patted his chest. “Sometimes talking to you is like pulling teeth.” Eli said fondly.

“That's an interesting idiom.” Thrawn said. “I would tell him I had to consider it as I have not before. Do you have a tattoo you want to get?” he asked before Eli could goad him further.

Eli nodded. “I don't know _where_ I'd get it, but I've always liked the idea of getting Lysatra tattooed on me somewhere.” Eli pulled his datapad out from under his pillow (Thrawn idly wondered what else Eli had stashed under there) and pulled up a picture of Lysatra from space- it was a mostly golden brown with the occasional splotch of green water and marbled with white clouds.

“...If we are accosted by someone wishing to know what type of tattoo we would get I believe I now have an answer for them.”

Eli grinned. “What does Csilla look like from space?”

He had to let go of Eli and roll away to get his datapad- put safely on the side table instead of tucked under his pillow.

While he looked through his pad Eli sat up, arranging the blanket across his shoulders like a shawl. He plucked a red popsicle out of the cooler and started eating it.

Once he had found the image he wanted Thrawn slid over to sit beside Eli and showed him the silver-blue-grey swirl of Csilla from space.

“It's beautiful,” Eli said.

“Yes,” Thrawn agreed, he continued before he could think of another reason to put this off. “There's something I need to talk to you about.”

“What?” Eli asked, the dye in the popsicle had stained his lips bright red.

“I wasn't exiled.”

Eli stopped mid-lick. “...Then what were you?”

Eli didn't ask any more questions until Thrawn has explained everything, he just listened, occasionally licking his popsicle as it slowly melted in his hand.

His only question once Thrawn had finished was, “Why are you telling me this now?”

Because it would be necessary just in case. Because...

“I should have told you already,” Thrawn said. “Our...” He didn't know what word to use in _any_ of the languages he spoke. “...this,” he said at last gesturing at the both of them naked in bed, having post-coital conversations about tattoos and eating popsicles and hoping he was conveying what he meant well enough. “is very important to me. I want to be honest with you.”

“As honest as you can be,” Eli said.

“Yes,” Thrawn said, unsurprised that Eli had cut to the heart of the issue. He couldn't be completely honest with Eli. Not yet.

Eli nodded- and then slid the remaining third of his popsicle off it's stick and stuck it in his mouth. He busied himself with rinsing his sticky fingers in the melting ice in the cooler. Thrawn watched him, certain Eli had more to say on the matter and desperate to know what it was.

He'd considered the potential outcomes of this conversation before. It was unlikely Eli would stop working with him, but there was a possibility Eli wouldn't want to continue a … physical (romantic) relationship with someone who had lied to him, who couldn't always be entirely honest with him.

Eli swallowed. He locked eyes with Thrawn. “Our _this_ is important to me too.” he said, and kissed Thrawn with ice cold lips.

Thrawn sighed into the kiss and pulled Eli over to sit on his lap.

Eli broke the kiss and grinned at him. “What's all the relieved sighing about?” he teased. “Surely you knew how this would go?” Eli ran both hands through Thrawn's hair.

“I didn't,” Thrawn said. “Possible outcomes yes, but I didn't know for sure.” Thrawn pressed his face into Eli's hair. He bit gently at the base of Eli's neck.

“Contingency Plans,” Eli gasped as Thrawn licked and sucked at the bite.

Thrawn hummed an affirmative against Eli's skin.

“What were you going to do if I said we shouldn't do this anymore?”

And Eli had accused _him_ of asking too many questions.

Thrawn let Eli's neck be for the moment. He pressed their foreheads together and looked straight into startled brown eyes. “There is no plan for that. If you leave me I will simply endure as best I can. I suspect it will not be done well.”

“Oh,” Eli said breathlessly.

Thrawn held Eli flush to him and kissed him deeply. Eli clung to his shoulders. Thrawn rocked forward- intending to get Eli on his back and himself between those perfect thighs again.

Eli hit the sheets, Thrawn's weight pinning him to the mattress.

The cooler tipped over, dumping ice water all over the bed- and Eli.

Eli shrieked like he was being murdered and quickly abandoned the bed, mood ruined.

The bed was a lost cause- even with the bucket righted, the remaining ice scooped off the sheets and returned to the cooler-the bed was too wet to use anytime soon.

“Well,” Eli said as he rescued the three remaining popsicles, he offered them to Thrawn and then buried them in the remaining ice when Thrawn shook his head. “We haven't been in my bed yet.”

“An excellent suggestion Commander.” Thrawn said. He grabbed the champagne bottle and headed for Eli's room. “An exploratory mission seems in order.”

Eli laughed like the morning bells after Longest Night.

 


End file.
